Well, This Is Awkward
by CeilingMuser
Summary: A Dominic Howard fanfic, where he starts a drumming class,and gets a surprise...
1. Chapter 1

I walked into the clean, airy classroom with a two small snare drums in hand. About 15 kids had signed up, so I had a lot more work to do. I set the drums down in a line and walked out.

"Hello, kids, I'm Dominic, but you can call me Dom or whatever you like, but nothing crude." I introduced myself as a small, slightly shaggy blonde kid walked in.

"Hey there." I said and continued on. "Today I'm going to be teaching you the basic, and I mean the very basics. There is a whole world to drumming, and I might never get there myself. So, let's begin with how to properly hold the sticks. There are two ways. Which one do you guys want you learn first?" I pulled out two signs, one with A, and one with B. _This is quite lame,_ I thought. They picked and I showed them the traditional. As I checked around the same kid was already quietly tapping out a beat.

"Have you done this before?" I asked him.

"A little. My mum showed me some basic beats she learned." I smiled.

"What's your name?"

"James," he answered. This made me smile more.

"That's a good name. It's my middle name." He allowed me a small smile.

After everyone else had left the class, James lingered while I packed the few things I needed.

"What's up James? Have any questions?" He shook his head.

"No. But my mom gave me this for you." He handed me a hand written note that went like this:

_Hello Dominic. Do you remember the Bizarre Festival in 2000? That was 12 years ago. I'm not sure if you remember me. I had met you after the gig. You were really nice and charming. So I followed you to a tent. We slept together. James is the product of that afternoon. I think you're still a good man. James needs his real father. Please contact me._

_ Abbey_

_P.S. If you think I'm lying, look at him. Look at his eyes. You said mine were unforgettable._

"Well then," I said, but I was really thinking _Oh, shit. Now what? _I did look into his eyes. He had a little nervous smile on his face. Recognition hit me, almost making me reel.

"How do I contact her?" I say regaining my composure.

"There's our phone number on the back. Please call her," he added. I gulped. This seemed to be real. I didn't know what to do.

"I'll certainly consider it," I said. James left the room.


	2. Chapter 2

I called the guys immediately after I got home. I didn't tell them the whole story until they got here.

"So this kid is my son. James." I finished. I was still trying to comprehend the situation.

"How do you know for sure, though?" Matt questioned. "To really know, you'd have to take a paternity test."

"But this kid _looks_ like _me_," I said. "You'd have to see him." Looking back, I'm surprised I didn't notice before.

"You have to call her. Dom, you have a responsibility," Chris stated. I trusted his judgment, being a father and all. He is the one who handles arguments between us.

"But why now? She could've gone to any other gig in the past 12 years. Hell, she could've used the fan mail address!" I raised my voice slightly, confused and frustrated.

"Maybe she needs money," Matt mused.

"Still, though," Chris persisted. "You owe her. At least a call." I mulled it over.

"Thanks. Now I need time to think." They left and I paced he room. Chris was right. But maybe Matt was, too. Eventually, I sat down and picked up the note and my phone. I dialed the number, and after 4 rings a woman's tinkling voice answered.

"Hello?"

"Uh, this is Dom…" I trailed off, unsure of what to say.

"Hey. So you called," She chuckled nervously. "I hoped you would. Um, would you like to come over? I think it would be better, more comfortable, maybe…" Her voice made my memories come flooding back. I stammered.

"Uh, yeah, sure. Uh, what's your address?" She gave me it and we said our goodbyes. _Well, here we go,_ I thought.


	3. Chapter 3

I knocked on the door of a small retro rambler and shuffled my feet. I was guilt-ridden because of what I had done. When she was on the phone, I didn't hear any contempt or bitterness in her voice. But that didn't really mean anything. Abbey opened the door.

"Hi," She said nicely. I saw her face and was jolted into another time. I had seen her in the crowds from my kit, and she was moshing. I was caught by her chestnut hair shining in the sunlight as it was whipped around. She was beautiful even hot and sweaty, and by the middle of the set, I hoped she would meet us after the gig. Now, it looked like the 12 years had done her well. She had the same silky hair, and dark green eyes. She was pretty at the gig, but now she matured and grown _beautiful._

"Hey there," I said, only able to lightly mask my nervousness.

"Why don't you come inside? It'll be easier to talk." Abbey opened the way into her home. It wasn't shabby, considering. Old, but functional. She led me to a cozy living room. We sat on opposite chairs surrounding a maple table.

"So, how've you been?" I start.

"Oh, overall I've been better than most. I'm so thankful for that. I assume you want a life story?" she answered. Mentally I breathed a sigh of relief.

"Yeah, I'm certainly interested."

"Well, at first I was just really scared about having the baby and I had my parents to deal with. They're very religious. So I had the baby, and oh, he was so beautiful. He won over everyone. I teared up a little when I held him. While I was working towards an apartment, my parents and grandma took care of him. Then I moved out and life as actually relatively easy. You know, I'm still a Muse fan. I played albums for James when I was pregnant with him, and he likes Muse, too." I smiled.

"I'm surprised." I said, "If I were you, I think I'd be more than a bit bitter." Abbey shrugged.

"I think it kind of strengthened my liking. You know, since there's definitely a stronger connection now." I chuckled.

"So how'd you get this house?" I asked, eager for more of her story.

"My grandma died, and then she gave this house to me. She loved James with all her heart. And then the rest is basically history." I took in this information.

"Well, I'm so glad that made off well. That your life isn't horrible."

"No. I could have done much worse. I could've seen Radiohead." I right guffawed at that. I discovered her humor, one thing I hadn't that night, apparently.

"Do you want to see James' baby book?" Abbey prompted.

"I'd love to!" I exclaimed. She went into a drawer in a hall and pulled out a sky blue scrap book. I moved to the couch to accommodate her. She sat next to me and opened it up.

"See, James' foot prints." I fingered them. I didn't realize, really, how tiny a baby's feet are. They would fit inside my palm. On the next page were all his measurements at birth. As she flipped the pages, I saw all his firsts: first word (lamp-Aww!), first step, and first haircut (that was a bit odd).

"I wish I could've been there," I said as I pointed to a picture of a toddler James frolicking in the waves.

"He loves the beach," Abbey murmured. This was really nice, but there were still questions in the back of my head.

"I have to ask," I began, "Why now? Is…there something you need? Because I'll give it. If that isn't offensive."

"At first, I was kind of scared. I know, when I met you, you were so sweet," I inadvertently blushed at this. "But I didn't know if you would change because of the baby. And after that, honestly I didn't think about it. Well, in passing thought. But lately James has taken an interest to his parentage. So I told him the story. I figured I couldn't be the tomboy mom for all of time. Then he saw the ad for the class, and I thought, 'Hey, might as well.' And now we're in real time. I don't need anything, but I think James needs his father."

"So the drumming was completely of his own volition?" I asked.

"Yep."

"I guess it runs in the family," I remarked.

"I guess so," Abbey answered.

"I really enjoyed seeing you, I'd like to see you again, and James." I said, smiling.

"Oh, great! Uh, when?" I thought.

"You can come to the class and after we can talk," I said.

"Perfect," Abbey replied, and I left her house with a sense of hope.


	4. Chapter 4

"So she and James just wanted a father. For him, and there's nothing behind, it, as far as I can tell." I told Matt over the phone when I got home.

"Doubt it." He muttered. I pursed my lips and rolled my eyes. Matt was such a pessimist.

"You haven't met her." I replied.

"Or slept with her, that I know of," Matt added.

"Then it would be your kid, eh?" I said.

"Indeed." My stomach growled and I let Matt off to get myself some lunch.

A couple days later was the next class, and I waited until everyone had got there before starting.

"So today we're going to get you started on a beat and hopefully to all stay in time. Ready?" I tapped out a simple beat on my snare and everyone followed, horribly out of time. After I made sure everyone had the beat down, I counted to help them stay in time. Soon the class ended and Abbey peeked in.

"How are you, honey?" she asked James as he went to hug her.

"Good," he replied. I just watched, glad to see them both happy.

"And were you good today?" Abbey questioned.

"I guess," he answered.

"He's certainly not bad," I said, thinking this would be a good time to jump in.

"Thanks," James replied, a little shy.

"Here," I said, pulling out some chairs from a corner of the room, "Would you like to sit?" The two sat down, and so did I.

"So what's new with you?" I ask James.

"School's almost, out, but we have a big project," he begins, "I don't like school." I chuckle.

"School wasn't my best subject," I confess. James smirked at that.

"I liked doing art better, actually, even though I only did it for ...a year or so." I continued.

"That's part of the project. We have to do an art piece and analyze why we did it. I have an idea, but I'm not sure," James was animated as he talked about the art.

"What's your idea?"

He told me about a landscape that was like a map of a world, but everything just had one thing different. The trees looped, the sand was as soft as cotton candy, and the like. WE talked about art and other things for a while, but Abbey cut us off, as it was sunset.

"Well, bye James, nice talking to you more." I waved as he left. Abbey hugged me quickly. I was shocked, to be frank. She whispered thank you, and followed James out.


End file.
